Vegetable-topping machine.



" 0". 172,762. PATENTED 0G' I1.18,1904.

A. E, VROO'MAN.

VEGETABLE TOPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 17, 1903.

NO MODEL.

(g/NVENTOR harm 10% E WITNESSES.-

6576,5419, June 18, 1901, I have shown a deother vegetables.

UNITED STATES Patented October is, 1904.

PATENT OF ICE.

AREA E. VROO M AN, OF PAINESVILLE, OHIO.

VEGETABLE-TOPPING MACHINE? SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent'No. 772,762, dated October is, 1904.

Application filed April 17, 1903 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AREA E. VROOMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Painesville, in the county of Lake and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Vegetable-Topping Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates. to a machine especially adapted for removing the tops from onions or 1 Experienced growers of onions find that the same should not all be topped the same length; but the length of the stem left on the onion should be in proportion to the size of the onion for two reasons, viz: First, they have a better appearance for market; second, if a suflicient length of stem is not left on the onion the air gets into the bulb of the same and causes it to grow and rot.

The object of my invention-is, therefore, to provide a machine which will expeditiously and cleanly remove the tops from the vegetables without bruising or otherwise injuring them and which will top the large and small vegetables in such a manner that the length of the stem left remaining on the vegetable will be in exact proportion to the size of the vegetable.

Another object of the invention is to construct a machine for the purpose described which will be exceedingly perfect, simple, durable, and economic and .in which the various parts of the machine requisite for the work may be expeditiously and convenientlyadjusted to meet all requirements.

In my patents numbered and dated,-respectively, No. 580,742, April 13, 1897, and N 0.

Vice for holding and supporting the vegetables to be topped in such a manner that the large and small vegetables will be topped in such a way that the length of the stem left remaining on the vegetable will be in proportion to the size of the vegetable. This device comprised, respectively, in said patents a trough running over the rollers, the trough having a longitudinalopening in its lower portion leading directly to the space between the rollers, by which trough the vegetables are held, so that only their tops may engage Serial No- 153,0'73. (No model.)

" In my application for Letters Patent, filed November 3, 1902, Serial No.'129,833, I have shown a double-feed vegetable-topping machine comprising various devices and improvements, paramounmamong which is a vegetable supporting trough for holding the vegetables to be topped directly over the cutting device, whether shears, choppers, revolving blades or other suitable and convenient cutting device. I have also showna revoluble feeding-cylinder and a revoluble cylinder provided with a series of cutters formed integral therewith or securely attached thereto instead of a revoluble bar presenting cutting edges. 7

The paramount object of this invention is to still further improve my said inventions by increasing their capacity, efficieney, &c., as follows, viz: by providing asimple, new, and

improved device for supporting and holding and to regulate the topping of the vegetables,

and which will permit of the use of cutting knives or blades on both cylinders making them practically cutting and feeding cylinders. This device is known as a vegetable-supporting rod, hereinafter more fully described;

With these ends in view the invention consists in the novel construction hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out'in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hand-power machine constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a front detail view of the machine, showing the manner in which motion is transmitted to the cylinders by means of asprocketchain and sprocket-wheels. Fig. 3 is a sectional View of the machine, taken on line (I, Z) of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a double-cylinder machine provided with sta tionary side boards and adjustable vegetablesupporting rods and having all cylinders provided with knives or cutters.

Similar characters of reference indicate like parts throughout all the figures of the draw- 1ngs.

In the accompanying drawings, 1 designates the inclined main frame of the machine, mounted in the present instance on suitable legs or standards 2 and provided at its upper or front end with two transverse horizontal beams 3. Mounted in suitable bearings near the ends of these beams 3 is a drive-shaft 1, having mounted thereon and carrying intermediate the said beams a main driving sprocket-wheel 5. Upon the end of the driveshaft 4 there is mounted a crank-wheel 6, by means of which the same is rotated.

7 and 8 designate, respectively, drive-shafts mounted in suitable bearing-blocks 9, slid ably mounted in recesses or openings 10 of the ends of the main frame 1 of the machine, and which said drive-shafts carry, respectively, the revoluble feeding-cylinder 11 and cuttingcylinder 12. The revoluble cutting-cylinder 12 is provided with a series of cutters or knives 13, formed integral therewith or securely attached thereto.

To the upper or front ends of the revoluble feeding-cylinder 11 and cutting-cylinder 12 there are mounted sprocket-wheels 1 1 and 15, respectively, to which motion is imparted by means of a sprocket-chain 16 passing over them in the manner shown in Fig. 2 and over the main driving sprocket-wheel 5, hereinbefore referred to.

17 and 18 designate, respectively, side boards or walls of a vegetable-trough parallel with and in close proximity to the inclined revoluble feeding-cylinder 1 1 and cutting-cylinder 12. These side boards or walls 17 and 18 are adjustably mounted in the present instance to the sides of the main frame 1 of themachine by means of supporting-arms 19, provided with suitable slots and adjustingbolts 20.

When the vegetables are very green and tender, the side boards or walls 17 and 18 are adjusted so that the bodies of the vegetables will not come in contact with the cylinders and only permitting the tops to be engaged thereby, thus preventing the peeling or bruising of the bulb of the vegetables when the tops are severed therefrom.

21 designates a vegetable-supporting rod mounted and secured at its ends to the upper and lower ends of the inclined main frame of the machine and mounted immediately above the meeting perimeters of the adjacent revoluble feeding-cylinder 11 and cutting-cylinder 12. This .vegetable-supporting rod 21 is designed to hold and support the vegetables to be topped directly over the meeting perimeters of the feeding and cutting cylinders 11 and 12 and provides two openings or spaces on each side wherethrough the vegetable-tops are carried by the cylinders and to regulate the topping of the vegetables.

In order to elastically hold the cutters or knives 13 of the revoluble cutting-cylinder 12 in contact with the revoluble feeding-cylinder 11 and provide for the requisite vibratory motion while the same are being revolved, a coil-spring 22 is mounted behind the bearingblocks 9, supporting the ends of the shafts of the cutting-cylinder 12. It should be understood that the bearing-blocks 9 are so mounted and arranged that only the cutters or knives 13 of the revoluble cutting-cylimler 12 are brought into contact with the perimeter of the adjacent feeding-cylinder 11, thus pre venting the accumulation and adhesion of dirt, &c., to the feeding and cutting cylinders.

23 designates the feeding-hopper, secured and mounted to the upper portion of the machine, as shown, and designed to feed the vegetables to be topped into the upper portion of the inclined vegetable-trough formed by the side boards or walls 17 and 18.

The bottom of the feeding-hopper 22-) may be made of slats, wire-netting, or other suitable material designed to allow all dirt, &c., to pass through the same.

The operation of the invention is as follows: As the crank-wheel is revolved the feeding and cutting cylinders are caused to revolve toward each other, and as the vegetables are drawn from the feeding-hopper the same are enabled to pass to the upper ends of the feeding and cutting cylinders, and over the entire length of said feeding and cutting cylinders the vegetables pass, assisted in their downward course by gravity and the revolution of the feeding and cutting cylinders and the chopping motion of the cutting-cylinders, and as the vegetables are passing downward the same are carried thereby against the vegetablesupporting rod, and the tops of the vegetables are drawn under the same and between the feeding and cutting cylinders and are then chopped off between the same, and the vegetables then free from their tops pass on downward and off from the lower portion of the machine completely severed from their tops.

\Vhile I have shown a hand power machine, it should be understood that a pulley may be substituted for the crank-wheel and the same be connected by a belting with any suitable and convenient source of power. Furthermore, while I have shown but one of the cylinders provided with cutters or knives it should be understood that cutters or knives may, if desired, be provided on the opposite cylinder, making these cylinders both feeding and cutting cylinders. If desired, any

number of cylinders may be combined ina single machine and the same provided with any suitable and convenient gearing whereby each pair of cylinders are caused torevolve table-tops are carried by the cylinders may be adjusted to regulate the length of the stems left on the vegetables.

In Fig. 45 I have shown a front elevation of a modification of a vegetable-topping machine constructed in accordance with my invention, showing two sets of cylinders, all of which are provided with cutters or knives 18 and in which the side boards or walls 17 a and 18 are stationary and permanently attached to the sides and ends 1 of the machine. It will be seen that the two side boards l8 form one central dividingpartition securely attached to the ends 1* of the machine. The vegetable supporting rod 21 is adjustably mounted and secured at its ends to the ends of the frame 1 of the machine by means of supporting-arms 24, secured thereto and having vertical slots'25, through which the ends of the rod 21 pass and which is adjusted and secured in any desired position by means of adj usting-nuts 26. 4 v

Any suitable gearing may be provided whereby the cylinders comprised in each set may be caused to revolve toward each other,

and any suitable means may be employed whereby the same may be attached to any suitable source'of power.

It should be understood that when all the cylinders are provided with cutters or knives, making them practically both feeding and cutting cylinders, the adjustable'side boards may be so adjusted as to cover the cylinders suflicientlyas not to allow the onion to come into contact with the cutters, leaving only the tops to come into contact therewith and be drawn'through between the rod and cylinders.

my hand in the It will be observed that by the use of my vegetable-supporting rod the capacity of my machine is nearly doubled, for the reason that there are two openings or spaces, one on each side of the rod, for the tops to pass through to the cutters, while'in the patents heretofore granted to me only one opening is shown through which the tops pass to the cutting device.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is w 1. A machine for topping vegetables, comprising a revoluble feeding-cylinder and a parallel inclined revoluble cutting-cylinder, means foryelastically holding the knives of said cutting-cylinder in contact with said feeding-cylinder, means for revolving said cylindersover and toward each other, side boards or walls adjustably mounted parallel to and in close proximity to said revoluble feeding-cylinder and cutting-cylinder, and avegetable-supporting rod adjustably mounted immediately above the line of contact of said knives and said revoluble cylinders whereby to regulate the toppingof the vegetables.

' 2. In a machine for topping vegetables, the

combination with a pair of parallel inclined revoluble cylinders each carrying a series of cutters or knives, means for elastically holding the cutting edges of said cutters or knives in contact with the perimeter of the adjacent revoluble cylinder, and side boards'or walls mounted parallel to and in close proximity to the perimeters of said cylinders; means for revolving said cylinders over and toward each other, of a vegetable-supporting rod mounted immediately above the line of contact of said knives and said cylinders and providing openings or spaces intermediate said rod and cylinders wherethrough the vegetable-tops are carried by the cylinders and to regulate the topping of the vegetables. 1 In testimony whereof I have hereunto set presence of two subscribing witnesses;

.- ARBA E. VROOMAN. Witnesses:

RALPH E. GREGORY, GUY WYMAN. 

